Turning Adversity into Success with Malcolm Gladwell & Miyao Bros.

Malcolm Gladwell speaks on the apparently insurmountable versus the reality of facing overwhelming opposition, and how difficulty proves integral to success:

Miyao loses I don't know how many times....loses many battles...but wins the war in the form of the brown belt absolute world championship when it matters most.

Conor McGregor: Welcome to My Office/Mindset of a Champion

"Success leaves clues."

Give credit where credit is due.
There are lots of talented athletes who come and go in the UFC.
Even among the champions, how many chart a meteoric rise and not only talk but fight their way into title contention in the murderous featherweight division atop which sits the nearly unflappable Jose Aldo.

He also understands, as he says "I know that Conor vs whoever sells more than Cub/Frankie versus whoever."
The reality then is also the truth: this is a business in addition to a game of fighting.
Other athletes unwilling to craft a persona and demand and earn and hype deserve to win 10 or 11 fights and go without a title shot ala Jim Miller et al.

Other athletes can bemoan McGregor's favoritism from his UFC bosses but the guy has people tuning in and people chanting and singing and the like. Finishing all of your UFC opponents but once since signing with the organization doesn't hurt your star's shine either.
 

Part of the reason I find Conor McGregor intriguing is all of the above. He walks forth, talks, and in his mind expects all of the above.
He has thus far walked the walk and talked the talk.

As a fighter and competitor who many who know me will readily acknowledge I haven't fought or competed to my potential; I find the discussion of mindset and the like incredibly prescient and of interest on a personal level.

Fear, Sense of Self, and Jiu-Jitsu

A lot of us had doubts before we ever walked into a gym.

Not everyone is tough when they start. Universally, we learn we're not as ________ as we thought we were.

 

Ultimately, and we've all seen it: that first time someone gets mounted or dominated, or they get tapped out, or they get put to sleep, or especially I saw it in MMA style sparring, you saw who came back the next day, the next week, the next month, and who fought again after they lost a fight.

 

I've heard a lot of people say they respect anyone who gets in there and fight.
I disagree. Anyone can fight. They lock that cage door, and you will fight. There is nowhere to run.

What is hard is training and preparing like a professional. Training twice a day or more, doing your strength and conditioning, full out sparring, going to Thai class, and making time for wrestling or whichever area in which you're deficient. Having self-control and watching your diet.

I don't respect anyone who fights and is unprofessional. It is inexcusable in my mind.

The toughest thing I've seen many people do is just show up day after day.

The new guys who kill themselves trying to win from day one, that pride, that ego....when it is finally smashed, and it will be, it shatters their sense of self.
You can see how fragile their sense of self is based on how much they NEED to win. They fight every armbar and choke and position like the world depends on it...because it feels like it does in their mind. Their world, their sense of who they are as a man or whatever, is on the line.

Losing feels like death to them, because all of us grapple with a perhaps false sense of self or a fragile sense of self we have constructed throughout our lives. If they lose, the way they wish to see themselves dies/comes into conflict with reality. That cognitive dissonance is highly uncomfortable and distressing.

For others, many who came in accepting there would be humility at the outset and that this would take time, the biggest hurdle is realizing  that size and strength do matter as people get better. We've told ourselves the mantra that technique will always prevail, and yes, perfect technique will prevail. But it is a sport and physics does not fluctuate. When you're tired, hungover, preoccupied with work, or simply your diet was off the preceding day, you should get smashed by a training partner.
Then you get that very first actual realization as to just how long a road this may be. We get frustrated, make excuses, avoid rolling with someone, or avoid rolling when tired or the gym entirely to avoid getting caught.

Realistically, many of us will never be world champions. In fact, the vast majority will not be.
Does that mean that we should let negativity and fear infest our belief and limit our ability to succeed (because that is what it will do).

Rafael Lovato Jr. - Winning Mindset/Campaign to Brasileiro Absolute Title

This has been on the internetz for awhile.

I went back and watched it b/c there are obviously a lot of people who do Jiu-Jitsu.

Yeah. Let that observation sink in.

There are also a lot of black belts.

Yeah. Let that observation sink in.




At that level, the guys who continually win don't just train harder or longer or smarter (or take more bomba? Shhhhh, the Jiu-Jitsu mafia will come after you).
Olympic athletes all discuss the important of visualization and mindset and self-affirmations et cetera.

Winning one match or beating a division with one other guy is one thing.
Competing across two divisions over the course of two days in one of the biggest tournaments in the world and winning is a different animal.

You can't just win one battle. It is a series of battles with many variables that must be addressed: fatigue, strategy, focus, doubt, et cetera.
Lovato takes you through what he was thinking at various points in his matches both before, during, and after/between. It's an interesting look into how a guy at the pinnacle of the sport self-coaches and thinks during an elite level tournament.